Process of manufacturing lasts.



M. HILGERT.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING LASTS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, 1914.

1,1 26, 19 1., v Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

W/TA/ES 6 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MATHEW HILGERT', OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING LASTS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I MATHEW Hrnena'r, a citizen of the United tates, andresident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and

State of New York, have invented certain improvements in Processes ofManufacturing Lasts, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like referencecharacters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to lasts and processes of making lasts.

More especially it relates to lasts adapted for use in the process ofmakingshoes set forth in an application filed by me June 8,

1914, Serial Number 843,727.

vIn practising this process, a last of unusual construction is requiredon whlch to 20 make the shoe, as will be explained more fullyhereinafter, and it is the primary ob- .ject of the present invention todevise a process by which this last can be accurately made.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of aform which referably is used in practising this process; Fig. 2 is anangular view showing the bottom of they form illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig.3 is an angular view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a filler secured onthe bottom of the form; Fig. at is an angular view of the fillerillustrated in Fig. 8, but showing the filler in an incomplete state;Fig. 5 is an angular view of the bottom of the filler shown in Fig. 4;;and Fig. 6 is a view in side elevatio of the'required last.

In making the required last, it is first neccssary to make a model fromwhich to make the last. I refer to make this model by first making acot-shaped form or last similar to an ordinary last but having itsbottom face shaped to conform tothe more promi- 45.- of the drawings,from which it will be seen I1ent pro ections and depressions of thefoot.

Such a form is shown at 2 in Figs. 1 and 2 i .that the formhassubstantially the lateral,

instep and'upper surfaces of a last made for a substantially normalfoot, but the bottom face includes a well rounded heel 4, an archSpecification of Letters Patent.

August 15,

surface 6 deeper than that usual in the ordi Patented Dec. 8,1914.

Original application filed June 8, 1914, Serial No. 843,726. Dividedand. this application filed 1914. Serial No. 856,423.

nary last but substantially like that of 9. normal foot, and a forepartsurface nearly fiat but with a shghtlyrounded portion or protuberance at8 corresponding to the joint of the great toe. The extent to which thedetailed duplication of the features of the bottom of the foot arecarried out can be varied as circumstances require; but ordinarily, inmaking a form of a given size, only the more prominent features of thefoot, which will not vary to any great degree in the majority of feet ofthe same size, will be reproduced in the form. This form, therefore, ismade of the dimensions and shape required to construct a shoe for asubstantiallynormal foot of a 'ven size, but differs from the usual last0 the same size and style in its bottom contour.

The form 2 having been completed, I next make a filler 10. This filleror a substantial duplicate of it later will be used in the shoe to bemade on the last produced bythis 7 form 2, tempering it and thensecuring it to the form withtacks until it has dried. to the shape ofthe form. A rand 14 is then glued around the heel part of the leatherpiece 12 and a piece 16 of-felt or similar material is glued to theforepart, this felt being first given the desired shape, as for instanceby running it through a splitting machine equipped with a suita 1yshaped die roll or by using a suitable templet in con-' nection with thesplitting machine, as will be readily understood by those familiar withsuch machines. According to this method, the filler is made on, thebottom of the form a'ndth'e parts 14 and 16 are shaped to give totheupper surface of the filler a contour conforming to that of the bottomof the form, which contour will be retained after p the of the filler-10xof greater average .athic ness than the inner ed e in orderrto compensate for or correct his tendenc This result is accomplished in thefiller s iown by shaping the felt member 16, as shown in 'Fig. 5, sothat it is somewhat thickeron the outside iortion where the oint of thelittle toe will ear on it than on the inside under the great toe joint.The top and bottom surfaces of the filler are next covered with somesuitable material such as cloth 'or leather.

When the finished filler 10 is secured in its normal or operative'positionon thebottom' of the form 2 these parts together constitute themodel from which -to-turn -the required last; but inasmuch as thefiller,

while havin a" substantially permanent sha )e, is me e'of material thatmight yield sufhciently under the pressureof-t e model wheel of the lastturning lathe to prevent the lathe from making an exact reproduction ofthe model, I prefer to reinforce the filler. This may conveniently bedone by soaking the filler in some hot liquid composition thatbecomesfirm and solid when cooled to ordinary temperatures. I find that 'a verysatisfactory composition for this purpose can be obtained by mixing 81%percent. of Malayan gum with 12Mper cent. of ozokerite" and 6 per cent.of ontan wax. -This composition may be easily melted and-the filler whensoaked in it and allowed to -eool,'will be found to be ractically asfirm as a pieceof wood.-- his method of reinforcing the lfiller hasthefurther advantage that it does not change the dimensions of the fillerand,-conse-- quently, does 'not modif the formordimensions of themodel.- he filler made for urpose of making-the modelfrom whicii to turnthe last 'ma if desired, be made\of materialsother-t an those specifiedsuch for instance as leather or fiber or some material that issufliciently firm and unvielding'to require no. reinforcement,.bnt

still can be given the required shape.- The model is now complete,consisting of the form 2 and the filler.:10 secured thereto, the filler,if-made of yielding .materiaL-preferab'ly:-- being 3 reinforced as above-described.

The required last can now be obtained-from this'model with the .aid .ofthe usual-.-last making machinery simply by following the well-knownmethod of making a last from a model.

. The last roduced in the manner just described is indicated at 18, Fig.6. With this last, an orthopedic shoe can be made in exactly the sameway that a standard or ready-made shoe is manufactured in shoefactories, and when the shoe is completed,

byinserting in it the filler 10 or a duplicate thereof, it will then fitthe foot for which the ;form 2 was-originallymade with an accuracimpossible with ordinary readymade S1085. It has been considered ossibleheretofore to make such shoes on y by hand; but by first making a lastaccording to the process above described, such shoes can then be made bymodern shoe making machinery and at only a slightly greater cost thanthat-of manufacturing a standard shoe of the same quality.

.It is obvious that a metal, last can be 9 made from :the model abovedescribed in the usual manner. I

The novel construction of last described herein is not claimed in thisapplication-but is claimed in an ap lication filed by me J une8, 1914,Serial 0. 843,726 of which ap lication the resent case is a ivision.

aving thus escribedmy invention, what I claim as new and desire.to-secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. That improvement in the art of making lasts which consists in makinga model .by providing a form, securing to a surface of said form afiller of relatively yielding material and having a surface sha ed tofit the said surface of said form an having its exterior shaped to thedesired form, and reinforcim said filler while maintaining substantiallyunchanged the dimensions of said model so as to make the material of thefiller the practical equivalent of that of theform for use as a model ina copying lathe.

2. That improvement in the art of making lasts which consists in makinga model by providing a form, securing to a surface of said form a fillermade of relatively yielding material and having one face sha ed to fitthe said surface of said form an having its other face shaped to thedesired form, and reinforcing said filler by soaking it in a 1i uid thatsubsequently hardens so as to ma 0 the material of the filler thepractical equivalent of that of the form for useas a model in a copyinglathe.

3. Thatimprovement in the art of making lasts which consists inproviding a form, securin to a surface of said form a filler made 0relatively yielding material having its upper surface s iaped to fitaccu rately the sa1d surface of said form an having its bottom faceshaped to the desired o rm, and reinforcing said filler by soaking it ina nielted'mixture of Malsyan- In' mstimony whereof I have signed my gum,ozokerite, and Montan wax in subname to this specification in thepresence stantially the proportions specified, and alof two subscriblngwitnesses.

lowing the filler to cool so as to make the r MATHEW HILGERT.- '5materlal' of the filler the practical equiva- Witnesses:

lent of that of the form for vuse as a model M. E. -CUMMINGS, 1 in acopying lathe. i H Wmmm SIMONBON.

